Just one day in Amsterdam? We have the best route

Many tourists Arrive in Amsterdam at the Central Train Station or at the Schiphol airport. This is actually a great place to start your one-day tour. 

Dam

The city’s main square, Dam, is just a short walk from the station. There you can enjoy the National Monument, a snow-white monument that decorates the center of the square that was built to honor the victims of WWII. 

Dam square has two great destinations for architecture and art lovers: The Royal Palace and the New Church. 

Singel

The next stop on our tour is Amsterdam’s famous flower market on the Singel canal near Dam square. 

The market will give you a good opportunity to buy flowers (especially tulip bulbs) and various Dutch souvenirs. While you’re there, stop by the Reypenaer stand at Singel 182 where you can try the most famous Dutch delicacy, cheese. We will continue our tour by heading towards Leidseplein. It’s a lively square that is covered in shops, restaurants and cafes. If you’re hungry, then you’re in the right place: Leidseplein has almost all of the world’s cuisine to offer at various prices. You can buy a souvenir to remember Amsterdam in one of the many shops nearby. 

» See more – Where to eat in Amsterdam

Museumplein

Your tour of Amsterdam will be incomplete if we don’t go to the Museumplein, which has the city’s two most famous museums: the Rijksmuseum (Museumstraat 1) and the Van Gogh Museum (Paulus Potterstraat 7). 

Crowds of visitors gather in front of their doors every day, so if you only have one day to see Amsterdam, try to buy a ticket in advance. Also keep in mind that even a quick run through one museum will take at least an hour. 

Cruise through the canals

After that, you’ll probably want to relax a bit. You can do that and still continue your tour of Amsterdam by getting on a boat. Amsterdam offers several cruises through the canals and one of them starts right near the Museumplein. 

Your cruise will last 75 minutes, and you’ll see the city’s main tourist attractions again as well as many new ones. The city is built on canals. They’re the main streets and they’re interesting and informative to “walk” on. In general, the tour boats are a necessary activity for every tourist. You can find boat tickets by using this link. That way you can save time, avoid lines, and might even get a discount. 

Our day in Amsterdam is almost over, but there’s one more famous place that’s best to see in the evening. Of course, we mean the red-light district, and if you don’t go there how can you say you’ve been to Amsterdam? The red-light district is between the Central Station and the New Church in the De Walletjes quarter. 

» See more – what you need to know

Not far from here you’ll find Chinatown, where you can finish your tour of Amsterdam with dinner in one of the Asian restaurants. 

Also read our article “Where to go in Amsterdam: The 10 most important tourist attractions” and download out audio guide of the city. It will quickly and informatively show you all of Amsterdam’s main tourist sights. You can even see them all in one day. For the price of a cup of coffee, we’ll show you the whole city. Download it here. 

Enjoy your trip!